Mecole Hardman sits out Chiefs practice with abdominal injury

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman sat out of Wednesday’s practice for the Kansas City Chiefs as he deals with an abdominal injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs returned to practice on Wednesday after a long, grueling battle against the Tennessee Titans in Week 9. As it turns out, most players who left during the game came out healthy by mid-week but the Chiefs were missing an important offensive weapon on Wednesday with the absence of wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

Hardman was the only Chiefs player on the active roster sitting out of practice on Wednesday, and head coach Andy Reid stated that he’s been dealing with some “abdominal soreness” from the last couple of days.

The Chiefs have leaned heavily on Hardman in their last couple of games as an end zone weapon who has come up big with four scores in those two contests, including the only touchdown catch from Sunday’s win over the Titans. He had three touchdowns in a career performance before the team’s bye against the San Francisco 49ers.

Hardman is in a contract season in his fourth year with the Chiefs, and it looks like the team will let him hit the open market given the franchise’s recent trade for former Giants wideout Kadarius Toney. In fact, Toney’s presence on the roster can help in the short term as well knowing that their similar skill sets will prevent the Chiefs from rushing Hardman back from injury.

So far in 2022, Hardman has 25 catches for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also has 31 rushing yards and another two scores on the ground. Through 8 games, he’s already tied his career high in touchdowns in a single season.